


Wayfinder

by Sakinthra



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Awesome Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)-centric, POV Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 08:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17914973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakinthra/pseuds/Sakinthra
Summary: The Heartless strike Destiny Island. Sora is whisked away to a cross-world adventure, Riku is pulled away by dark forces, and Kairi...Kairi wakes up in a town covered in twilight, unable to feel more than the barest spark of emotion.They call her Nobody. But what does that even mean? More importantly, how is she going to find her boys and get back to her island? And finally...just what the hell is a Keyblade anyway?(An alternate universe/rewrite in which Kairi wakes up a Nobody, recruits a strangely familiar red-head, and becomes a Keyblade hero...her way.)





	Wayfinder

_ “I just can’t wait. Once we set sail...it’ll be great.” _

  


-

  


The wind of the storm thrust open Kairi’s windows with a bang that ricocheted through her bedroom. The young girl woke with squeak, throwing her covers off and getting ready for… well, not exactly the alarm clock she’d been expecting, she had to admit. If anything, the flapping window shutters were something of a disappointment. It was still dark out, pitch dark almost, which meant it  _ wasn’t _ morning, which meant that it  _ wasn’t _ time for her amazing rafting expedition to start. Kairi let out a small huff of disappointment and carried a pout with her all the way up out of bed and to her open window. There wasn’t any rain, not yet, but something wicked looked like it was brewing on the horizon and the wind was…

The wind…

_ The raft! _

Desperate, Kairi flew to her dresser and began pulling out clothes. With any luck, Riku and Sora would have already headed to the nearby island with similar thoughts. They’d worked so  _ hard _ on tying that raft together, but these winds threatened to be strong enough to pull their vessel apart. Even if it held together, the wind might pull the raft out into the deep water where they couldn’t reach it, and that would be game over for their summer adventure. No other worlds, no finding out where Kairi had come from... _ game over _ .

And Kairi was  _ not _ about to let that happen. She was  _ not _ going to let herself see the looks of disappointment on Riku and Sora’s faces if the raft got away from them. Not here, not now, certainly not to a stupid  _ storm _ . 

Kairi had never been the strongest rower, and it was a battle of will just to get to the next island over. The wind pushed waves higher than she was tall, sending her small rowboat tossing about until she was certain she might fall out. As she glanced up at the island, she saw leaves being torn from trees and sand whipping up into the sky. For a moment, she wondered if she’d made a stupid decision, coming out here in what was shaping to be a dangerous storm, but as she neared the dock she caught sight of another rowboat already tethered to it. Riku or Sora, one of them was here already, and she couldn’t just let them face the weather alone, could she? 

With rowboat tethered, Kairi’s feet hit the sand running.

And then...then she  _ felt _ it.

The feeling overcame her in a wave of nausea at first, like a blanket of negative emotion reaching into her stomach and wrenching it around in every direction at once. Kairi could feel that whatever this was, it was  _ rotten _ . It was dark and empty and  _ destructive _ , and whatever it was, it was  _ nearby _ . She fell to her knees, clutching at her stomach as she tried to keep herself together. 

_ Darkness _ , a voice in her mind seemed to whisper.  _ Darkness is coming. _

No, Kairi thought back. Darkness is already  _ here _ . 

She opened her eyes just in time to see pools of shadow forming around her. Though in her mind she knew it was nonsensical, she saw  _ creatures _ begin to pull themselves from their depths. Black creatures with clawed hands and glowing eyes, creatures that looked at her with something like  _ hunger _ . 

Kairi scrambled to her feet and began to run. It wasn’t about the raft now. She had to find the boys and they had to get  _ home _ . But more of the creatures pulled themselves from the ground as she ran, until she was having to jump over them just to get by. Then, all at once, she felt something grab at her leg and pull her to the ground harshly. Kairi cried out.

_ Darkness is coming. _

_ Darkness is  _ **_here_ ** .

She thrust her hand out, trying to push away the creatures that had pulled her down. For a brief moment, she felt... _ something _ . Something trying to form in her hand, something that could keep her safe, but more of the creatures jumped on her, clawing at her,  _ reaching for something inside her _ , and then…

Darkness.

  


-

  


_ “One day when you’re in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another, someone to keep you safe.” _

  


_ - _

  


_ Sora… _

_ Riku... _

  


_ - _

  


Kairi awoke in an unfamiliar place.

The hazy yellow light over the surrounding buildings reminded her of twilight, but there were no warm island sands beneath her feet, no palm trees swaying above her, and instead of the soft sounds of ocean waves she heard a distant rattling of a train running along its track. There had been a small train on the home island, as it was far too big to cross the whole thing on foot, but none of the buildings here looked like the ones she was familiar with. Wherever this was, it wasn’t home. 

Kairi  _ should _ have felt panicked at this. It was only natural to be afraid, to be worried that she was lost or somewhere far from home. And if she thought deeply, the feeling  _ was _ there, but it was as if the feeling was being filtered through a thick fog before reaching her, like her heart had been buried in the ground and she could only just barely hear it calling out to her. 

Kairi let herself think on this for a while, not wanting to move or really confront the true problem at hand, and that was that she had  _ no _ idea where she was, or where any of her friends were. The last thing she remembered was being attacked by dark monsters, and now she was here, and she didn’t feel  _ right _ . 

The good thing about having her emotions be so distant: there was nothing holding her back. No panic, no anxiety, no fear… all of it was a distant thrum in the back of her mind, leaving instead only the smallest hint of curiosity to give her purpose. Where  _ was _ she? Was she in another world? Had her friends ended up here as well?

There was only one way to find out. Kairi pushed herself to her feet. She felt as light as a feather, coming to a stand with an ease that was not at all typical. Yet, as she looked down to examine herself she noticed that everything  _ looked _ alright, but somehow her own body seemed unfamiliar to her. She jumped, once, twice, letting herself gently float to the ground each time. Yes, something was  _ very _ different. Either  _ everything _ floated here in this strange new world or  _ she _ had somehow found the way to float, and both options were equally confusing. Nothing was adding up or making sense. Nothing was right.

There was a small twinge of unease in the back of her mind that was relatively easy to push aside. Kairi let the unusual haze of apathy wash over her and began to walk. 

There were people in the town bustling here and there, but no one seemed to pay her any mind as she walked, or even notice that she seemed somewhat out of place. Kairi wondered, at first, if everyone here was overtaken by the same emotional numbness that she was, but as she glanced at people chatting and go about their day… well, they  _ seemed _ normal. Maybe they’d just learned to pretend? Kairi tried to force a smile onto her face, but the motion felt strange. Her heart just wasn’t in it. 

She allowed herself to wander for a while, noticing that she never really got tired or bored. A little hungry, maybe, but it wasn’t a pressing matter. More important was finding her friends, but no matter where she looked she saw no sign of Sora or Riku, or  _ anyone _ from Destiny Islands.

She was alone. Alone on a new world.

Eventually Kairi found herself on top of a massive clocktower. She could see the entire town sprawled out beneath her, each of the people moving about their days, none of them her friends. She sat down on the edge of the tower.

More than anything, Kairi wanted to cry. But it seemed as though her body just wouldn’t  _ let _ her. 

She wasn’t sure how much time passed until the man approached her. Seconds, minutes, hours, it could have been  _ days _ for all she was allowed to care, but all at once, someone else was there, and he was…

Familiar?

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but the familiarity was definitely there. The shock of red hair, the lanky build...there was a name on the tip of her tongue, but no matter how hard she grasped she couldn’t quite reach it. 

“Ah, damn it all, I thought nobody else had found this place yet,” The man lamented, scratching at his head with a gloved hand. “Listen, this is  _ my _ secret spot and I worked hard to-” The man suddenly stopped, tilting his head as he got a good look at her. She was familiar to  _ him _ too, Kairi realized. Maybe he was...maybe he had been from her original world?

Maybe  _ he _ knew what was going on.

“It’s... _ you _ ?” The man asked, dumbfounded. “You’re little Kairi, aren’t you? The last time I saw you, you were half that size!” 

So he  _ did _ know her! There was a very small feeling of relief inside her now. If he knew her, then he was a friend, right? Someone she had to have known before.

“Yes, I’m Kairi.” Speaking for the first time was...strange, but at least she could still do it. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember who you are…”

“ _ What _ ? How can you not remember me?” The man looked aghast. “The name’s  _ Lea _ . L-e-a,  _ Lea _ . I used to babysit you all the damn time back at the Gardens. Though...man, I guess I’m going by  _ Axel _ now so, forget all that. I’m Axel.”

Lea...Axel...Kairi’s head spun with all the information coming at her at once. Something about the Gardens definitely seemed familiar, and the name Lea...yes,  _ Lea _ was familiar, she  _ did _ remember it! There was something in the back of her mind now coming forth, the image of a boy, younger than the man before her but with the same shock of hair, grinning from ear to ear…

For the first time since she’d awoken, Kairi felt genuine elation. She clapped her hands together in excitement. “You’re Lea!” She said with a smile. “I do remember! I...I think I remember, anyway. You used to play with little discs, didn’t you?” 

“Yeah, you got it!” Lea, no,  _ Axel _ smiled back as well. “Man, I’d always wondered what had happened to you. Guess I figured you’d always…” His look went dark all at once, and he frowned. “Do you...remember what happened at the Gardens, Kairi?”

“No.” Kairi admitted. “I really don’t remember anything at all, before I ended up at Destiny Islands. And I don’t know how I ended up here either.” She stood up, desperate now for him to help her. “Please, Axel, I think something’s horribly wrong! There were these dark things that started attacking me, and this big storm on the island, and then I woke up here and I don’t feel  _ right _ and-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, slow down!” Axel held up his hands. “So you don’t remember the Gardens, and the place you  _ do _ remember got attacked, and now you’re here, right?”

“Right.” Kairi nodded. “And I’m not sure why, but everything just feels  _ numb _ .”

“Numb.” Axel nodded. 

For a moment, silence. Then:

“Crap.” 

Kairi winced as Axel cursed. “Not...not good?”

“Very not good, though I guess it’s lucky I found you. I just hope the Boss doesn’t mind me taking in a stray.”

Axel held out a hand. Tentatively, Kairi took it.

“Let’s go, then. I’ve got a  _ whole _ lot to explain, and here’s not the place to do it.”

In front of them, a vortex of black appeared. Kairi once again felt the sensation of nausea, of  _ wrongness _ , but it was so distant that it didn’t matter. All that mattered for now was that she had a friend, and he was going to explain what had happened. Then, she’d find Sora and Riku, she’d find a way back home, and…

Well, one step at a time. 

**Author's Note:**

> ((I started plotting this project after my devastating disappointment with the ending of KH3. When faced with disappointment, the only thing you can do is a rewrite fanfiction, right?
> 
> This will be a side project, coming second to my Naruto fic in terms of allocating time. Nonetheless, I shall try to update this monthly.))


End file.
